


The Babysitter

by mulderette



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 20:09:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8115802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulderette/pseuds/mulderette
Summary: Callen finds things don't go as smoothly as he'd like when he's left in charge of Sam and Michelle's daughter, Kamran, while they are away.





	1. Chapter 1

"Now if there's any emergency, don't hesitate to call, okay? You can reach us if you need to." Sam tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice. After all, this was his partner, his best friend. He trusted him with his own life. Of course he trusted him to take care of his baby girl.

"Everything will be fine, Sam," Callen said with a bit of a smirk, using the tone of voice he used when trying to calm down jittery witnesses at the boathouse.

"Daddy, don't worry," Kamran said. "You know Uncle Callen will take good care of me. We're going to have a lot of fun."

"You see, big guy?" Callen said, giving his partner a light punch on his arm. "You don't need to worry about a thing."

"I'm all set, Sam," Michelle said as she came down the stairs with a purse and a carry-on bag. "Thank you so much for taking care of her for us." She hugged Callen and then gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She then bent down to hug and kiss her daughter.

Sam pulled Callen into a hug and patted his shoulder. "Thanks man."

"What? No kiss?" Callen asked, grinning at his partner.

"Keep it up, G," Sam said grinning back at him. He then picked up Kamran and hugged her tightly. "You be a good girl for Uncle Callen, okay?"

"I will be, daddy," Kamran said as he put her back down on the floor.

"Her medical insurance card and a list of phone numbers are on the countertop in the kitchen," Michelle informed Callen, "just in case you need them. And I cooked some meals that are in the freezer, including your favorite casserole."

Callen nodded and tried to pull off a genuine smile as Sam smirked at him behind Michelle's back, knowing how Callen really felt about the casserole. Sam then picked up a large suitcase from the floor. "Come on, baby. We don't want to miss our flight."

"Bye, guys," Callen said. "Have a safe trip."

"Thanks again, G," Sam said, grasping his friend's hand. "We'll see you Saturday." He and Michelle hugged Kamran again and then they were off.

xxxxx

"So, what would you like to do today?" Callen asked Kamran after her parents had left.

"I don't know…whatever you want to do is fine with me," Kamran replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Callen looked back at her blankly, not really having any clue as to what they could do. It had been easier when she was a very small girl. Playing make pretend with dolls and stuffed animals hadn't exactly been manly activities, but it had been easy to keep her entertained. Now that Kamran was getting older, it was definitely more difficult. He hadn't even known he was going to be staying here until a few days ago. Michelle and Sam had been chosen some time ago to partake in a five day specialized CIA training exercise in an isolated European location. Michelle's mother had been all set to take care of Kamran but she was laid up with a badly sprained ankle and was unable to do so as was Michelle's sister who was caring for their mother. Sam's mom was away on vacation. Not wanting Sam and Michelle to miss this opportunity, Callen had volunteered to stay with their daughter. He figured since he would be at work and Kamran would be at school for a lot of the time that it wouldn't be much of a hardship, but now he was at a loss as to what they could do. "You want to go to the mall?" he finally asked and Kamran's face lit up.

"That would be great! Can we bring Bridget with us?" Bridget was Kamran's best friend. Callen didn't know the girl but Sam had mentioned her many times in the past.

"Uh yeah sure, if it's okay with her parents."

Kamran pulled out her cell phone and quickly pressed the speed dial next to her friend's name. "Hey Bridget. My Uncle Callen is staying with me while my parents are away. He's going to take me to the mall and he said you can come with us. Can you come?" Kamran turned to Callen. "She's going to ask her mom."

Callen nodded then walked over to the sofa to sit down while he waited.

About a minute or two later, Kamran walked over to him and held out the phone to him. "Her mom wants to talk to you."

"Hello?" Callen said, taking the phone. He briefly talked to Bridget's mother and then handed the phone back to Kamran. "Her mom said she can come. We're going to pick her up."

Kamran squealed as she took the phone from him. "Yay! I'm so excited Bridg. We're going to have soooo much fun! I'll see you soon."

She clicked off the phone and looked at Callen expectantly. "When are we leaving?" she asked, excitedly shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Is now soon enough for you?" he asked, amused by her exuberance, wondering if he had ever been as excitable in his younger years. He didn't think so, but then again, he hadn't lived in the kind of home Kamran lived in, with loving parents and an older brother who adored her.

They headed off and arrived at Bridget's house after only a five minute drive. "Hi Bridget!" Kamran opened her window from the back seat and waved at the girl and her mother who were walking towards the car. Callen got out of the car to greet them.

"Hi, I'm Grisha Callen," he said, realizing it was the first time he had ever introduced himself by that name. "It's nice to meet you both."

"I'm Angela Ford and this is Bridget," the woman said. "Thank you for offering to take her."

"Sure. It's no problem at all," Callen said. "We won't be home too late. I'll have her home around 5 or so?"

"That's fine. Bridget, don't give Mr. Callen any trouble," Sarah instructed her daughter who nodded as she got into the back seat next to Kamran.

Callen said goodbye to Sarah and off they went. About 20 minutes later they arrived at the mall. After Callen found a parking space, he followed the giggling girls inside. "Okay. You can go where you want and I'll just kind of follow along. Just make sure you stay within my sightline so I can keep an eye on you," he directed at Kamran who nodded.

"We'll stay where you can see us, Uncle Callen," she said. "I promise."

"How much money do you need?" he asked, having no idea what to give her.

"I have ten dollars," Kamran replied. "You don't have to give me any money."

He looked at Kamran's friend. "How much money did you bring, Bridget?" he asked.

The red haired, freckled faced girl, blushed bright red when he addressed her. "My mother gave me thirty dollars. That includes money for lunch," she said, staring down at the ground.

Callen reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet then handed Kamran a twenty dollar bill. "Here you go," he said. "I'll treat you both to lunch so you don't need to worry about that," he said.

Bridget blushed even redder as she thanked him and the two walked on ahead of him, whispering to each other. The first store they stopped in was Claire's to look at jewelry and accessories. Since the store was small, Callen found it easy to watch them without having to go inside. About 10 minutes later, the two happily exited the store, both carrying small bags and seemingly having a wonderful time.

After that, they headed to H&M and Callen had to follow them into the store. He was glad he knew how to remain relatively unobtrusive while still being able to make sure they were okay. He was pretty sure they would have been fine inside the store on their own, but he refused to take a chance with other people's children. He knew better than most what a dark place the world could be. The two girls began trying on clothes and Callen fought boredom as they went in and out of the dressing room. He didn't understand how they could possibly enjoy trying on so many things. Thankfully, they finally finished and brought their merchandise to the cash register as Callen wondered how far they could possibly stretch 30 dollars each.

The next store they went into was Hot Topic. Callen followed them inside more out of curiosity than anything, unsure of what kind of a store it was. He found himself browsing through the merchandise in spite of himself, amazed at the amount of merchandise he found for the television show, Supernatural, which he couldn't recall ever having watched. There was also merchandise for Pokemon, Harry Potter and countless other movies, comics, t.v. shows and musical groups. The girls mostly just browsed in that store and ended up leaving without buying anything.

After stops at Icing, Payless Shoes, See's Candies, where Callen actually bought some candy to bring to work, and an overly long stop at Justice for another clothes trying on session, the girls approached him. "I think we're done, Uncle Callen," Kamran said, happily smiling at him. "Where should we go to lunch? The food court?"

Callen inwardly grimaced at the thought of eating lunch at the overly crowded area they had passed by a couple of times. That wasn't happening if he could avoid it. "Would you girls like Italian food?" he asked. He was really hungry by this point and wanted to go somewhere not overly fancy, but where they could get a halfway decent meal.

"We'll go wherever you want," Kamran said.

"Okay, I know a place I think you'll like," Callen said, eager to escape the mall. He shepherded the girls back to the car and drove them to Andre's Italian Restaurant, which was a favorite of his. It was cafeteria style with a casual atmosphere which he thought would be good for the girls. Callen got chicken parmigiana and the two girls got spaghetti and meatballs. With the addition of salad, garlic bread and a piece of double chocolate cake, which Kamran and Bridget shared, they were all pretty well stuffed by the time they finished the meal.

"That was really good, Uncle Callen," Kamran said as they headed back to the car. "I liked it a lot."

"Me too," Bridget said.

"Well I'm glad you both liked it," Callen said, smiling at them as he unlocked the car and they got inside. Then they headed back to the Hanna's residence where Bridget was going to spend the remainder of the afternoon hanging out with Kamran.

Xxxxx

At 5 o'clock sharp, Callen called the girls downstairs and said it was time for Bridget to go home. After the short drive back to her house, Callen pulled into the driveway and parked. "Thank you very much for taking me to the mall and for lunch," Bridget said as she opened the door to exit the car. "I had a very good time."

"You're welcome, Bridget," Callen said. "It was nice to meet you."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Kamran said.

"Bye, Kam!" Bridget got out of the car and closed the door. Callen waited to see that she was safely inside her home and then pulled out of the driveway.

"She seems like a nice girl," he said, glancing at Kamran through the rear view mirror.

"She thinks you're very nice too," Kamran replied. "But it's more than just that."

"Oh?"

"Bridget is in love with you," she whispered, looking very serious. "She thinks you're very handsome. She said you have beautiful blue eyes."

"Um…" he felt his cheeks flush, unsure of what to say. He was very glad Kamran hadn't told him this in front of Bridget.

"Don't worry. I told her you were too old for her."

Callen couldn't help but smirk. "Well, thanks for that."

Kamran nodded. "You're welcome. Besides, I don't think Daddy would be very happy if you dated one of my friends, even if she was old enough."

"No, I don't suppose he would," Callen agreed, trying to hold back his laughter.

xxxxx

"Are you going to make my mom's casserole tonight?" Kamran asked, watching as Callen poured them each a glass of spring water from the refrigerator, then handed her one.

"Well…we had a big lunch. I figured we'd just make sandwiches or something. Why? Do you really want the casserole?" Callen asked, giving her a curious look.

Kamran smiled impishly. "Don't you like my mother's casserole, Uncle Callen?"

"What? Yeah, um of course I like it," he said. "Why wouldn't I like it?"

"I don't know. You tell me," she said, her brown eyes sparkling.

"There's nothing to tell. If you really want it, we can have it," Callen said, wondering if Sam had told his daughter that he didn't like the casserole. "I just didn't think you'd be that hungry, but its fine if you want it."

"I'm just teasing you, Uncle Callen. I don't want it. It's not my favorite either." Kam laughed and winked at him.

"Okay, good," Callen said. Kamran obviously knew something, but he wasn't going to pursue it. The less said, the better. And he honestly had no intention of heating up the casserole this week unless Kamran pushed him into it.

After an easy dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, the rest of the evening was spent quietly. Kamran studied for a vocabulary test she had the next day and Callen alternated between quizzing her and reading a book he found in the family's bookcase, The Tears of Autumn. At 9:25, before Callen had to say anything, Kamran announced it was time for her to go to bed. "Good night, Uncle Callen," she said, giving him a hug. "Thank you for taking Bridget and me out today. It was fun. Love you"

"You're welcome, Kam," he said returning her hug. "I love you too. Sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning." He continued reading for about another half hour or so and then he too headed to bed.

xxxxx

The following morning, Callen was up early. He had just finished showering and dressing when he heard Kamran calling him from her bedroom.

"Uncle Callen! Come here! Quick!" Kamran called out, sounding distressed.

Callen headed back to her room and knocked on the door. "Kam? Everything okay, sweetie?"

"No, no it's not okay. Come in, please!"

Callen opened the door and saw Kamran sitting in bed, her eyes filled with tears. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked.

Kamran shyly pulled up the bottom of her pajama top, exposing the lower part of her abdomen which had clusters of reddish blisters and spots.

"Oh no," Callen murmured, his blue eyes widening.

"What?!" she asked, looking panicked.

"Oh I'm sorry, honey. Don't worry. You just surprised me. I just think you may have chickenpox…Are they itchy?"

"Yes, they're itchy, but I can't have chickenpox. I have my test today!"

Callen shook his head slowly. "No test for you today, I'm afraid. I'm going to go call your school and then call the doctor. If I'm right, you're probably going to miss school for the whole week."

"The whole week?! We're not going to have any fun," Kamran said, pouting. This wasn't at all the way she had expected the week to go while her parents were away.

"One step at a time, honey," Callen said. "I could be wrong. We'll see what the doctor says, okay?"

Kamran nodded, but she didn't look at all happy about her possible prognosis. To be honest, Callen wasn't particularly happy about it either.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well Kamran, you definitely have chickenpox," Dr. Kelly O'Brien smiled at the girl after she finished examining her. She had been Kamran's doctor since she was born. When the answering service had informed her of Callen's call, the doctor had kindly offered to come to the house to avoid Kamran coming into contact with any other patients.

"Her parents are overseas until Saturday," Callen said. "They're technically out of touch, but I can reach them to come home if they need to."

Dr. O'Brien shook her head. "Kamran has been vaccinated for chickenpox and doesn't even have a fever. I believe she'll be uncomfortable for a few days, but I anticipate this being a mild case. I don't think you need to send for her parents." She looked at Kamran. "Unless you feel differently, Kam?"

Kamran shook her head. "No. I think I'll be okay. Uncle Callen will take good care of me."

"Speaking of Uncle Callen," the doctor said, turning her attention back to Callen. "Have you received a vaccine for chickenpox?"

Callen nodded. "I did, the first part, a long time ago, but I had a bad reaction to it." It had been when he was with the CIA, right before he was due to go on an extended case overseas. Almost immediately after getting the shot, he'd started to have a hard time breathing and had broken out in hives. He'd ended up hospitalized and the CIA had to assign another agent to the mission. He'd been told not to get the second shot.

The doctor nodded. "Okay, I'm not going to vaccinate you then. We'll just have to hope you don't contract it. If you do and the symptoms are bad, you'll need to contact your physician."

"In the meantime, what should I do for Kam?" Callen asked.

"Are you very itchy?" she asked Kamran who nodded. "Calamine lotion is good. She should also drink plenty of fluids. I'm going to call in a prescription for Chlorphenamine which helps with the itchiness. A handful of baking soda or oatmeal in bathwater is also good. Oh and no aspirin, give her Tylenol if you need to."

"Oatmeal in the bathtub?" Kamran asked, making a face. "That sounds weird."

Dr. O'Brien laughed. "Yes, I know it does, but trust me, it can be very soothing. "I'll call in a prescription as soon as I get back to the office. Any major change in her symptoms, don't hesitate to call. You probably don't want to expose her to anyone either. She needs to be out of school until the blisters dry up. Hopefully, she can go back next week."

"Okay, thanks very much," Callen said as he walked the doctor to the front door. "I appreciate you coming over like this."

"No problem at all," she said with a smile. "Kamran is one of my best patients. I hope you feel better soon, Kam," she said, waving at the girl.

"Bye, Dr. O'Brien," Kamran called out, waving at the doctor from her seat on the recliner.

"Okay…" Callen said, walking back into the living room and looking at the sick child. "You want some breakfast?"

Kam shook her head. "No. I'm not hungry. I think I'm going to go back to bed for a little while."

Callen nodded. "Call me if you need anything…anything at all, okay? I'm going to call Hetty and let her know I won't be in this week and I'll call your school too and let them know you won't be in until at least next Monday."

"I'm sorry you can't go to work," Kamran said, looking worried. "Will you get in trouble?"

Callen smiled and spoke reassuringly. "No, no of course not. It will be fine. Go try and get some sleep now and don't worry about anything. Everything will be okay."

"Alright."

He watched as Kamran slowly made her way up the stairs and then he pulled out his cell phone to call Hetty.

xxxxx

Hetty had just placed her freshly brewed cup of tea on her desk when her cell phone buzzed. "Good morning, Mr. Callen," she said as she sat down on her chair. "I trust everything is going well with Kamran?"

"No…afraid not, Hetty," Callen said. "Kamran has chickenpox."

"Oh dear," Hetty glanced over at the bullpen where Deeks and Kensi were bantering back and forth. "That's not good. Has she already been seen by a physician?"

"Yeah…the doctor was nice enough to come by before her office hours. I have to admit I'm at a loss, Hetty. What do I know about taking care of a sick child all week?"

Hetty could hear the stress in the voice of her usually unflappable agent. "Oh Mr. Callen, I have no doubt you will do fine. Is she very ill?"

"No…the doctor doesn't think she'll have a bad case because she had the vaccine," he said quietly.

"I see…," Hetty said. "You, on the other hand, never received the second dose of the vaccine, if I recall correctly from your records."

"How on earth did you remember that?" Callen asked. "Anyhow, I'm not worried about me, Hetty."

"I remember everything, Mr. Callen and I do worry about you. Though there's nothing we can do about it now though, I suppose," Hetty said. "You've already been exposed."

"I'll be fine, Hetty. It's Kamran I'm worried about. I don't know what I'm going to do with her for a whole week at home. Plus, the doctor is calling in a prescription for her, but I don't even know how I'm going to get it. I don't want to leave Kamran here alone, but I don't want to drag her out with me and just leave her in the car either. I just didn't expect this to happen."

"No, of course you didn't expect this," Hetty said soothingly. "But that's what being a parent is about, Mr. Callen. Expect the unexpected."

"But I'm not her parent."

"No, but Sam and Michelle trust you, as do I. For now, you are her parent. I have tremendous confidence that you will come through this test with flying colors. Now, as to your dilemma about the pharmacy, I will send Mr. Deeks and Ms. Blye there on their lunch. You can tell me where they should go and what you need and they will pick it up for you."

"Really? That would be great, Hetty, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now is there anything else I can do for you?"

Callen sighed heavily. "Is there any work I can do from here?" he asked, not looking forward to missing a week's worth of work.

"You really don't need to worry about work, but if it will ease your mind, I will email you some tasks that you can perform via computer and phone."

"That would be good…thanks."

"Try not to worry, Mr. Callen, and if you need anything at all, I'm only a phone call away, even if you just need to talk. Just call me back after you figure out what you need and let me know which pharmacy to send them to."

"Okay, Hetty. Thank you."

"Good luck. I will talk to you soon." Hetty hung up the phone and headed over to talk to Deeks and Kensi. "I just spoke with Mr. Callen. He will not be in today or for the remainder of the week."

"Why not? Is Callen sick?" Kensi asked, looking at Hetty worriedly. Callen never got sick.

"No, but Kamran has developed chickenpox," Hetty replied.

"Oh no," Kensi said. "That's terrible. Poor Kamran."

"Yes, well, I have faith that everything will turn out fine," Hetty said. "For now, I would like you to perform a review of all our case files from the Harrison case. As we are currently only at half strength, you won't be going out in the field unless absolutely necessary. Of course, you will be available to help other teams if required or perform interviews or any other tasks you may be needed for. I also told Mr. Callen that the two of you will make a pharmacy run for him on your lunch today." With that, Hetty turned around and headed back towards her office.

"Damn…" Deeks said after Hetty had left. "I can't imagine anything worse than being stuck home with a sick kid all week. Poor Callen."

"Poor Callen? Really?" Kensi asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "What if that was our sick kid?"

"Well, of course that would be different, love of my life," Deeks said, giving Kensi his patented irresistible smile. "Though you would probably be home with the sick kid and I'd still be out working hard, bringing home the bread and butter."

"And what makes you think I wouldn't be going to work and you wouldn't be home with our child?" Kensi asked.

"Umm…well of course that would be a possibility, I guess," Deeks said. He stopped himself from saying it wouldn't be a very likely possibility, deciding to change his tactic. "In fact, I would be very happy to stay home with our sick child. I would be a regular doctor, entertainer and chef extraordinaire, all wrapped up in one package. My sick child would be very happy that daddy was home with him or her."

"Good answer," Kensi said as she nodded with a smile on her face.

"I'm sure I can find the two of you something to do if there's nothing to occupy your time," Hetty said, having walked back to them, unnoticed. "I would think with the team down two agents that there would be lots of work, but perhaps I was wrong?"

"Uh no, Hetty. You're not wrong," Kensi answered as she began shuffling through the numerous papers scattered on her desk.

"We've got plenty to do," said Deeks as he opened up his laptop and started typing furiously.

"Good…good," Hetty said with a smile. "Carry on then."

xxxxx

Callen worked until about 10:30 when he decided to go upstairs and check on Kamran. He quietly knocked on her door and then heard her small voice telling him he could come in. "Hey, honey. You okay?" he asked the miserable-looking child, huddled in her bed.

"I…I wish my mom and dad were here," she said as her eyes filled with tears.

"I know you do." He went over to her and put his arm around her. "I'm so sorry you're sick. I was hoping we'd have a nice week together, but I guess it's not going to be so nice for you after all."

She sighed and looked sadly up at him. "It's not your fault I'm sick."

"I know," he said, nodding, "but I'm still sorry. I know you miss your mom and dad, Kam. If you want, I can call and get them to come home."

She sniffled and shook her head. "No. It's okay. I'm not a baby any more, Uncle Callen," she said, looking up at him.

"You sure?" he asked, looking at her seriously. He didn't really want to put an end to Sam and Michelle's trip, but if she really needed her parents, he was willing to do it. Unfortunately, rules were very strict at this training program. There was a strict no-call policy. Callen could reach them if he had to, but if he called, they would be removed from the program.

Kamran nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

"How about some breakfast?" he asked. "I can make you eggs or waffles or whatever you'd like."

"I think maybe just some cereal," she said after inwardly debating.

"Okay, come on. Let's go downstairs," he said.

The rest of the morning was spent with Callen working on his laptop and Kamran trying not to scratch as she alternated between watching television and reading. "This itchiness is horrible," she complained.

"I'm sorry," Callen said, giving her a sympathetic look. "Deeks and Kensi will be here soon." He had searched through the medicine chest in the bathroom but had only come up with an almost empty bottle of calamine lotion and when he had opened it, he had found the liquid to be hardened. "You want to try the oatmeal bath?"

She shook her head. "Not right now. I'm going to go up to my room."

"Okay," Callen said softly. "Call me if you need anything. Try not to scratch."

She nodded and went back upstairs as Callen looked on feeling entirely inadequate on how to cope with this situation. Needless to say, he was very happy when the doorbell rang and he hurried to the door to reveal Kensi and Deeks, their arms loaded with bags, as well as a pizza.

"Hey guys, come on in," Callen said, taking one of Kensi's bags. "Thank you so much for coming."

"How's Kamran?" Kensi asked as they entered the foyer.

"Itchy," Callen stated. He brought the bags over to the dining room and placed them on the table. Deeks and Kensi followed him.

"How are you holding up?" Deeks asked, placing the pizza on the table.

Callen shrugged. "I'm just afraid I'm not doing enough for her," he said quietly.

"I'm sure you're doing fine, Callen," Kensi said, offering an encouraging smile.

Deeks nodded. "Besides, it's not like you have much experience with this kind of thing."

"Doesn't mean I should suck at it either, Deeks. I'm an undercover agent. I should be good at doing this, experienced or not."

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself, man."

"I don't think being an undercover agent is really adequate preparation for parenthood," Kensi said, grinning at Callen.

"Evidently not," Callen said as he started to open the bags. "What do I owe you for all this stuff?"

"It's all on Hetty's tab," Deeks said. "Except for the pizza. We figured that was the least we could do for you. I don't envy you man, not one bit."

"We really need to get going though," Kensi said. "We've been gone a while."

"Already?" Callen asked, looking a little bit dismayed. "Don't you want some pizza?"

Deeks shook his head. "We have another one in the car that we're bringing back with us. Anyhow…good luck. I hate to say it, but I think you're going to need it."

"Deeks!" Kensi socked him in the arm. "You really need to be a little bit more tactful."

"It's okay, Kensi," Callen said with a chuckle. "He's not saying anything I didn't already know. But seriously, thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate you doing this."

"No problem, Callen," Deeks said. "Keep in touch and I hope everything goes okay."

"Give Kam our love," Kensi said. "Tell her we hope she feels better."

"I will," said Callen as he walked his teammates to the door and then went to go give Kamran some medicine and hopefully help her to feel a little bit better.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the day went by with relatively little trouble. Once Callen gave Kamran the medicine and patiently used a cotton ball to dab calamine lotion over her countless little dots, she seemed to be less irritable. The pizza also helped. After dinner though, she was a bit less cooperative.

"So, do I get to stay up late every night because I don't have to go to school?" Kamran asked, smiling sweetly at Callen from the recliner which seemed to be her spot to sit.

"You can stay up a half hour later," Callen stated. "10 o'clock."

"How about 11?"

"You can read in bed if you're not sleepy, but you still need to be in bed," Callen said firmly.

"That's no fun," Kamran grumbled. "I don't have to get up early so why does it matter?"

"You may not have to go to school, but I need to get some work done."

"Why do you always have to work?" she asked him.

"Uh what?"

"Don't you ever want to take a vacation?" Kamran asked. "Daddy takes vacations."

"Well…your dad has a family to take on vacations, Kam…it's different." He was growing increasingly more uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

"You could come on vacation with us. Aren't we your family, Uncle Callen?" She got up from the recliner and went over to him, snuggling beside him on the sofa. "You know mommy and daddy would like it if you came."

Callen put his head back against the sofa. He knew what she was saying was likely true so he wasn't sure what to say to her. "You are my family, Kam…it's still different. It's hard to explain. Your mom and dad deserve to have a vacation with just them and you and Aiden. It wouldn't be the same if I was to go along with you."

She stared up at him her dark eyes seeming to penetrate into his. "But we all love you, Uncle Callen. Sometime, you need to come with us. Pleeeease?"

"Maybe, Kam…I don't know," he shook his head and swallowed hard, feeling a sudden lump in his throat. He was touched by her obvious affection for him and couldn't help feeling thankful to be a part of this family. "We'll see…okay?"

"Okay," She smiled and rested her head against his chest.

"But you still have to go to bed…"

xxxxx

The next morning, Callen got up early once again and decided to make pancakes as a treat for Kamran. He had attended many family breakfasts with the Hanna household and knew they were a favorite of hers. He found the box of pancake mix in the cabinet, read the directions carefully, then measured out the correct amounts of pancake mix, milk, eggs and oil into a bowl and mixed them. He then heated up the pan and poured the batter to make the first pancake. When he went to flip it over it was all stuck to the pan and then it just broke apart. By this time, Kamran had come up beside him and was watching his every move.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Callen asked.

She shrugged, more interested in what he was doing. "You're making pancakes?" she asked, eyeing the mess in the pan.

"Yeah, well that was just a test one," he said, scraping the disastrous first attempt from the pan and into the trash.

She nodded. "I don't think mommy does test pancakes," she informed him.

"Well, I do…it's the best way for me to make them." He was inwardly cursing himself for attempting something so stupid. Frozen waffles would have been a much smarter choice. "You can wait in the living room if you'd like to watch television. I'll call you when they're ready." He had to admit, the way she was watching his every move was unnerving. She was like a little mini Michelle.

"Oh no, I like to watch," she said. "I help sometimes too."

"Yeah?" he raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Do you help make pancakes?"

"Sometimes."

"Do you want to help now? You can."

She shook her head. "No. I think I'll just watch you today."

"Oh…great," he forced a smile as he poured more batter into the pan to attempt the next pancake. This one he managed to turn over and he was happy to see the golden brown color on top.

"That's a good one," Kamran commented.

"Yeah…yeah it is a good one," he said. Maybe this wasn't as hard as he thought. He waited an appropriate amount of time before he put the spatula underneath it to take it out of the pan. He was dismayed to find he had a hard time removing it. When he finally did and flipped it onto the plate, the other side was hard and blackened.

"Eww…it's burnt." Kamran wrinkled up her nose in distaste then looked up at him. "Have you ever made pancakes, Uncle Callen?"

"Well…"

"You haven't, have you?" Kamran shook her head . "I guess you can maybe try one more."

"Okay…one more…" Once again, Callen poured the batter onto the pan. As before, the pancake was golden brown on the top. He cooked the bottom side for about two and a half minutes then used the spatula to look underneath. "I think it looks good, Kam, what do you think?" he asked.

She nodded in excitement . "Yay! Flip it onto the plate, Uncle Callen!"

Caught up in Kam's excitement and the accomplishment of finally making what looked like a perfect pancake, he flipped it up high…and right onto the floor. Then when he went to pick it up to throw it away, he saw a small ring of wet batter on the floor from the uncooked middle part of the pancake. "I guess it wasn't so perfect after all," he said glumly.

"It's okay, Uncle Callen," Kam said. "Not everyone can be a good pancake cook. You can always go to a restaurant when you want some or come here and my mom can make you some."

"Yeah…yeah, I guess I can," he said with a grin as he looked down at her. "You feel like frozen waffles?"

She nodded with a smile. "Those would be perfect."

xxxxx

"I'm bored."

Callen looked up from his laptop. "Did you finish your homework?" he asked. Kamran's teachers had been listing her assignments in an online homework system the school had.

"Yes," she heaved a dramatic sigh. "There's nothing to do."

"You can watch television or a movie, listen to music, use your Ipad, read… There's tons you can do, Kam."

"You don't understand," Kamran pouted. "I can't talk to my friends or anything."

"You can call them after school."

"That's HOURS away."

"Your parents and I didn't have a lot of the things you have when we were kids."

"You sound like daddy." Kamran crossed her arms across her chest sulkily. "That was in the olden days. Kids were different back then."

He nodded. "Yes, that's true. We were able to entertain ourselves." He couldn't help but inwardly compare his childhood to Kamran's. She had no idea how truly lucky she was. Not that he would ever wish his childhood on her. He wouldn't wish it on any child. Inwardly, he debated what he could do for her. She had been very well-behaved this week, in spite of being sick. He really couldn't blame her for being bored when she was cooped up and unable to go anywhere. He had expected they would have been able to go out to dinner once or twice and maybe attend a movie, but none of those things had been possible. "How about I put some money on your Itunes account? You can get some new songs and games." Callen wasn't opposed to bribery at this point. It was Wednesday, just a couple more days and he'd be in the home stretch.

Kamran looked at him with interest. "Oh you don't have to do that, Uncle Callen," she said.

"I know I don't have to, Kam. I want to," he assured her. "Why don't you go get your Ipad and I'll add something in there for you."

"You just must be the world's most wonderful uncle," she said as she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "I'll be right back."

"World's biggest sap," he said to himself with a grin as he turned his attention back to his work.

xxxxx

"I thought I would join you and Kamran for dinner tonight," Hetty said over the telephone. "How does six o'clock sound?"

"Six? Umm…Hetty. Are you sure you want to do that? You probably don't want to expose yourself to Kamran."

Hetty laughed. "It will be fine, Mr. Callen. I have quite an iron constitution you know. In any case, I had chickenpox when I was a girl and I have also been vaccinated. I'm quite confident that I'll be fine."

"I'm fine too," Callen said. "It's already Thursday and I don't have a dot on me."

"Hmm…" Hetty said. "You do realize that it usually takes at least two weeks after exposure for someone to break out."

'Crap,' Callen thought to himself. "No, Hetty, I didn't realize that." He had stupidly started to think he might be in the clear.

"Well, no sense in worrying about it now, my boy. We'll just have to see what happens."

"So…uh, what would you like me to make for dinner?" Callen asked nervously. He supposed he could just heat up another one of Michelle's dishes from the freezer. Maybe he could foist the casserole off on Hetty.

Hetty chuckled on the other end of the phone. "I'll be bringing dinner to you, Mr. Callen. I certainly did not invite myself with the expectation of you cooking for me."

"Oh!" Callen smiled. He was actually going to get adult companionship and a meal he didn't have to worry about to boot. It was like a bonus evening. "That's great, Hetty. I appreciate it."

"See you at six, Mr. Callen."

xxxxx

"She's here!" Kamran screeched when the doorbell rang. Both Callen and Kamran had been very much looking forward to Hetty's visit.

"I'll get the door," Callen stated. "I know Hetty said she had chickenpox before, but I still don't want you to go too close to her.

"I won't," Kamran said, hopping about excitedly.

Callen walked to the door and quickly took two shopping bags from the older woman. "Hi, Hetty," he greeted her happily. "What the heck did you bring? There are only three of us."

"Well, here you are, still in one piece and looking quite well," she said as she inspected her team's leader.

"Yep, and tomorrow is Friday, he said grinning at her. "Almost through the week."

"Hi, Hetty!" Kamran waved at her from across the room.

"Really, Mr. Callen?" Hetty glanced at him, shaking her head. "Kamran, dear. You can come closer than that."

"Uncle Callen said I shouldn't get too close," Kamran said seriously as she came a little bit closer. "I don't want you to catch this either. It's nasty."

Hetty nodded. "Yes, I well remember having it when I was a girl. Has Uncle Callen been taking good care of you?"

"Oh yes," Kamran nodded enthusiastically. "He's the very best uncle in the entire world!"

"Well, that's quite an endorsement," Hetty smiled at Callen who looked a little bit embarrassed.

"What did you bring us for dinner?" Kamran asked.

"Well we have some salad, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob with ice cream for dessert. I suggest you put the ice cream in the freezer, Mr. Callen."

Callen dutifully took the bags into the kitchen and came back out a couple of minutes later. "Hetty, that's a lot of ice cream, "Callen remarked.

"It's only three pints. Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. I wasn't sure what Kamran liked best. "

"Oh I like them all, Hetty," Kamran said, smiling.

"There are also toppings to make some delicious sundaes," Hetty told her.

"Awesome!"

"And…this is for you. It will give you something to do tomorrow," Hetty handed Kamran a bag that Callen had not taken from her earlier.

"Thank you very much, Hetty," Kamran said. She opened the bag and pulled out two coloring books and a large set of colored pencils. "Oh cool! Thank you!"

"I've heard this coloring craze is quite the thing these days," Hetty said to Callen.

"Really?" Callen asked with a smile, eyeing one of the books as Kamran went through the pages. "Some of those designs look pretty intricate. They'll take some time to color. Thank you, Hetty."

"You're welcome," Hetty said, smiling back at him. "Now I suggest we eat our dinner. Some of those dishes may need to be heated up. I trust you can handle the microwave, Mr. Callen?"

"Very funny," he said with a smirk as he headed back to the kitchen.

The three had a very nice dinner followed by a very messy dessert. "Mmm…that was so yummy," Kamran said, "I'm stuffed. I'm so happy you came tonight, Hetty."

"I'm very glad I came too," Hetty said, glancing over at Callen. "Mr. Callen, you have hot fudge sauce on your cheek."

Kamran giggled as Callen wiped his face with a napkin. "Uncle Callen, do you think you can color with me tomorrow?" she asked him.

"Uh…I don't know…depends on how much work I have. I might be pretty busy," he replied.

"Oh I think Mr. Callen will have some extra time to color with you tomorrow," Hetty said. "I'll make sure he doesn't have too much work to do, Kamran."

"Yay! We're going to have fun!"

"Thanks so much," Callen said, smirking.

"Oh you are very welcome." Hetty smiled sweetly. "It will do you good to pursue something fun and creative. You can get in touch with your inner child. Use some color. Make me something pretty. Maybe I'll put it up on my refrigerator." Hetty winked at him.

"Oh that's a good idea," Kamran said. "You can have first choice, Uncle Callen. You can color any picture you want and give it to Hetty when it's done."

"Terrific," Callen said.

"You can bring it to me at work on Monday," Hetty said.

"The team would love that," Callen replied as he turned to Kamran. "You make sure you have daddy color a picture too when he gets home."

She nodded happily. "That's a good idea. Mommy too. Some of these pictures look hard so they can do those."

Callen smiled. "Yes, your daddy likes a challenge. Make sure you pick out a really hard one for him to do. He doesn't like things to be easy."

"Oh you are evil," Hetty whispered in amusement.

"You're the one who brought the books here," he whispered back to her.

They sat together in the living room for about another hour or so and then Hetty announced it was time for her to leave. "Thank you very much for the dinner, the ice cream and the books and pencils," Kamran said. "I'd give you a hug, but I'd better not."

Hetty smiled at the child. "I'll take a rain check on that hug, Kamran," she said. "You can give it to me the next time I see you."

"I'm going to walk Hetty out to her car," Callen said to Kamran who waved at Hetty and shouted goodbye.

"Thanks a lot for doing all this, Hetty," he said as they walked toward her car. "It was really good for her…and nice for me too."

"She seems quite happy in spite of her affliction," Hetty said. "I'd say you've done a very good job this week."

He shrugged. "I let her buy some things on Itunes. I'm sure that helped."

Hetty shook her head. "Don't do that, Mr. Callen. What you and Kamran share is not a result of Itunes or whatever else you may have given her. That child adores you and you simply need to accept it."

"Thank you, Hetty," Callen said, grateful for the darkness so she wouldn't see the blush covering his cheeks.

"You're very welcome." Hetty smiled up at him as he opened her car door and she got inside. "I'll see you at work early Monday morning," she said. "And don't forget to bring me that picture."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ooh that's really pretty, Uncle Callen," Kamran said, openly admiring the picture he was coloring. "So many colors. You're very good at coloring."

"Thanks." He would never admit how much he was actually enjoying doing this. He actually found it to be a somewhat soothing activity. The day was going by relatively quickly. He had gotten up early and worked for a few hours, then had called it a day and had given in to Kamran's desire for him to color with her. He was working on a colorful jungle print while she had chosen an underwater picture to work on. "Yours is really nice too. You're doing a terrific job, Kam."

"Thank you," Kamran said with a smile as she admired her picture. "I'm going to give it to mom and dad."

"I'm sure they'll like that," Callen said. He glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already after 1 o'clock. "How about some lunch?" he asked. "There's leftover chicken from last night or I can make you some soup or mac & cheese."

"I'll just have a piece of chicken," Kamran said. "And maybe some ice cream afterwards?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure," Callen said with a chuckle as he got up to go get the lunch items. He was actually feeling pretty proud of himself. He'd managed to get through the week with a sick child and he really hadn't messed up at all. Sam was going to be pretty impressed with what he'd done.

xxxxx

"I can't believe the week is almost over," Kamran said and then gave a dramatic sigh. "We didn't even get to go anywhere except to the mall."

"I know, Kam. I'm sorry," Callen said, his eyes sympathetic. "We'll do something fun together really soon though, okay? I'll take you to a movie or a show, whatever you'd like."

"Really?" Kamran asked, her eyes lighting up. "We can do whatever I want?"

"Well, within reason," Callen said with a chuckle.

"Maybe we can go to Universal Studios?" she asked, giving Callen a hopeful look.

He considered that for a few moments and then slowly nodded. "Sure, Kam. If that's what you'd really like to do, I can take you there. "

"I think that would be really fun," Kamran said happily.

"And I was thinking that maybe we could go to In-N-Out for dinner a little later? We'll have to order from the drive through but we can eat in the car and go somewhere to people watch if you'd like."

"Yes! That would be totally awesome," Kam said. "You're just the best, Uncle Callen."

"Well, I'm glad you still think so after this week," Callen said, smiling at her.

"Oh I definitely do," Kamran said as she hugged him.

xxxxx

A couple of hours later, Callen and Kamran were situated on some large rocks by a beach. They could view people down on the sand and in the water, but it was far enough away that there was no danger of Kamran exposing anyone to her chickenpox.

"You must be excited to see your parents tomorrow," Callen said before taking a healthy bite of his double-double.

Kamran nodded, her eyes bright with excitement. "I am. I miss them."

Callen nodded. "Yeah, work wouldn't have been the same without your dad around this week," he admitted. "But I got to spend time with you, so I didn't really have to miss him too much."

"I'm so glad you and my dad are friends," Kamran said. She thoughtfully ate some French fries and then looked over at Callen. "You're the best friend he's ever had. He's said that before. You're like a brother to him."

"Yeah, well… I feel the same way about your dad…" Callen said.

"Cause he's your family?"

"Uh huh…" Callen stared off at the water and spoke softly. "You're all my family…"

"I know," Kamran said smiling at him. "You're our family too."

Callen smiled back at her, knowing he couldn't have been closer to these people than if they really had been his family.

xxxxx

"They're going to be here soon!" Kamran said, hopping around the living room excitedly.

Callen watched her in amusement from the sofa. "Wearing a hole in the carpet isn't going to make them get here any quicker, Kam."

"I know, but I'm just sooooo excited," she said. "I wonder if they brought me anything. Do you think they brought me something?" she asked.

Callen chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they'll have gotten you something."

"I'm pretty sure too," she said, nodding in agreement. "Whenever daddy goes away, he always makes sure to bring me back a present."

Callen nodded. He'd been alongside his partner for a lot of those gift- finding missions for Kamran, Aiden and Michelle. If it was at all possible, Sam would always search for some kinds of trinkets for his family in their travels. He glanced around the living room and was satisfied that everything looked pretty much the same as when Sam and Michelle had left. He didn't want them to come home to a messy house.

"Uncle Callen, everything looks fine," Kamran said, giving him a knowing look. "I'm not a baby. I don't make messes anymore."

"I know you don't, Kam," he said, his cheeks coloring slightly.

"You're the only one who made a mess when you were trying to make the pancakes," she continued, laughing. "That was so funny. Wait til I tell daddy."

"Uh, you really don't have to tell your father about that, do you, Kam?" Callen asked, his eyes pleading, knowing his partner would tease him mercilessly over that.

"I don't know…" Kamran said with a sly grin. "Maybe I will and maybe I won't."

"Hmm…" Callen said. "I've got to say, you sure are a lot like your father."

xxxxx

"Oh Sam, will you stop being such a grump?" Michelle said to her husband who had just beeped at someone as he steered the Challenger through the streets. "We're almost home."

"I still don't know how you managed to sleep with that creepy guy sitting between us," Sam said. He had opted for an aisle seat and Michelle had taken the window in the hopes that no one would be between them. But as luck would have it, someone had sat between them and he had talked to Sam incessantly throughout the trip. Sam had even offered to take the middle seat so he could at least sit with his wife, but the guy had refused.

"He wasn't that bad, Sam," Michelle said.

"Yeah, because he wasn't talking to you."

"That's because I closed my eyes and ignored him."

Sam sighed heavily, not wanting to talk about it anymore. The lack of sleep had his head pounding ferociously. At this point, he just wanted to go home, relax and give his daughter a hug.

"You'll feel better after you get some rest," Michelle said with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right," Sam said.

Finally, he turned his car into the driveway, grateful that they were finally home.

xxxxx

"Mom! Dad! You're finally home!" Kamran screeched as Sam and Michelle came through the front door. "I missed you so much!" She flung herself into Michelle's arms and then into Sam's.

"Hey guys, welcome home," Callen said with a smile as Michelle gave him a hug. "How was your trip?"

"Don't ask," Sam said, forcing a pained smile in Callen's direction. "I see the house is still standing."

"I have chickenpox!" Kamran announced proudly, unable to keep the news to herself any longer.

"What?" Michelle looked immediately at Sam and exchanged a concerned look with her husband. "You do?" She looked toward Callen for confirmation who nodded.

"Seriously?" Sam asked. He could already feel the pain in his head increasing. "When did his happen?"

"She woke up with them Monday morning," Callen explained. "She's a lot better now."

"You should have called us," G," Sam said.

"Sam…" Michelle gently put her hand on her husband's arm as she looked at Callen. "Did you call the doctor?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, she actually came to the house that morning. She said it was likely going to be a mild case because Kam had been vaccinated and she turned out to be right."

"Uncle Callen took really good care of me," Kamran said, looking up at her parents.

"I'm sure he did," Michelle said, giving Callen a grateful smile. "Did you have to take the week off from work?"

Callen nodded. "I did, but it was fine. I was able to do some work here."

"Hetty even brought us dinner one night," Kamran said. "And new coloring books and colored pencils."

"I guess you've had quite the week," Michelle said, smiling at her daughter. "Why don't we go to your room so I can take a look at you? I might have a couple of surprises tucked away for you as well." She turned towards Callen. "I'm so sorry this happened, Callen. Thank you for taking such good care of our daughter."

"You're welcome," Callen said. He smiled as he watched Michelle and Kamran head for the staircase.

"Really, G?" Sam asked, as soon as his wife and daughter were out of earshot. "Chickenpox?"

"Yeah, I know," Callen said with a smirk as he turned to his partner. "I could hardly believe it either."

"You think this is funny?"

"No…" Callen's expression turned to one of bewilderment. "Of course I don't."

"You should have called us."

"I asked the doctor about that, Sam…she said it wasn't necessary."

"I think it was necessary," Sam stated. "Our little girl needed to be with her parents. You should have called."

"I asked Kamran, Sam… I told her I'd call you. She didn't want me to…"

"Because she was being brave. She didn't want to ruin our trip," Sam's voice was rising as he spoke. "You were the adult, G. You were in charge. You made the wrong decision."

Callen stared back at Sam, shocked at how quickly the situation was deteriorating. "Everything went fine, Sam. Kamran is fine…I don't understand what you're so upset about…"

"Yeah, I know you don't…You just don't get it, G. My baby girl needed to be with her **_family_** , but you don't understand that, do you?"

The remark stabbed Callen like a knife. A flicker of hurt appeared in his eyes, but he quickly covered it up and his features hardened into a stone-like mask. "I think I should go," he said coldly.

Sam nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

"Tell Michelle and Kam I said goodbye," Callen said. He grabbed his duffel bag off the floor and with one last look at his partner, left the Hanna home.


	5. Chapter 5

Not long after Callen left the house, Kamran came down the stairs wrapped up in a multi-colored blanket and carrying a doll. Finding dolls for his little girl was something that had always given Sam a lot of pleasure on his trips. She had amassed quite a collection over the years. Michelle followed behind her. "Daddy!" Kamran squealed. "I love these gifts. They're beautiful. Thank you so much." She looked around the room. "Where's Uncle Callen? Mommy said you have presents for him too."

"Uh…he had to leave," Sam mumbled, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Kamran's face fell. "Why?" She asked Sam, her eyes rapidly beginning to tear up. "Why would he go without saying goodbye?"

"Yes, why would he do that?" Michelle asked, looking at her husband suspiciously.

"He said to tell you goodbye," Sam said, staring down at the floor.

"That's not the same thing," Kamran said. "He could have called me."

"Yeah well, I guess he had stuff to do," Sam said. "He's been here all week…he needs to take care of chores at his own house."

"He still could have said goodbye," Kamran insisted.

"Kam, sweetie, why don't you go up to your room for a bit," Michelle said. "I want to speak with your father alone."

"I want to stay downstairs with you," Kamran said, looking at her mother.

"We'll spend some time together in a little while. We can order in something special for lunch, okay?"

"Uncle Callen should have been here for lunch too," Kamran said, casting a reproachful look in Sam's direction.

"Did you see the way she looked at me?" Sam asked as Kamran trudged up the stairs. "Why'd she look at me like that?"

Michelle shook her head slowly as she stared at her husband. "What did you do, Sam?" she asked softly.

"Why are you assuming I did something?" Sam asked. "How do you know it wasn't G?"

Michelle sighed softly. "Because you've been a bear ever since we got off the plane, because Callen was in a perfectly good mood when we got here and you weren't, and because you look as guilty as sin. What did you say to him, Sam? What did you say to your best friend, the man who has just taken care of our daughter for a week so that we were able to go away and leave her, who gave us peace of mind, knowing she was in good hands and would be safe and protected?"

"I…" the guilt was already beginning to gnaw at Sam. He wanted to block out what he'd said to G, not recount what had happened to his wife.

"Just tell me, Sam," Michelle said impatiently.

"I told him he should have let us know what was going on here, that he should have called us. I said…" he hesitated, not particularly wanting to tell her the rest. "I said she should have been with her family…but that he wouldn't understand that…"

"Oh Sam…" Michelle whispered, staring at him in shock. "How could you?"

He shrugged, looking miserable. "I don't know…I was just thinking of Kamran being here sick and needing us and we weren't here for her…I just…" he shook his head. "It just came out of my mouth…I wasn't thinking…"

"Callen is her family…he's our family, Sam…"

"I know that," Sam snapped. "Don't you think I know that?"

"I don't know what to think," Michelle said. "All I know is that you were extremely cruel to the man who has been your best friend for a very long time. I do understand that you wanted him to call us, but I didn't think you had it in you to say something like that."

Perched on the top of the stairs, with tears streaming down her cheeks, Kamran had overheard enough. She ran down the stairs and faced her father. "How could you?" she screamed at him. "How could you be so mean to him?! He did everything for me this week. He took me and Bridget to the mall and out to eat. He tried to make me pancakes. He colored with me. He put money in my ITunes account and he took care of me! He took me to In-N-Out and he was going to take me to Universal Studios! You were so mean to him, daddy! You were horrible and now he's never coming back!" She threw herself into Michelle's arms, sobbing hysterically while Sam looked on helplessly.

"You need to find him, Sam," Michelle said to her husband as she stroked her daughter's back, trying to calm her down. "You need to make this right."

Sam nodded. He couldn't believe how badly he had screwed up. With Callen's awful childhood, God only knew the affect his words would have on his partner. To have said what he'd said…he had no idea what he was going to say to Callen, how he would ever make this up to him. "I'll go now," he said, unable to bear the sight of his distraught daughter or the way his wife was looking at him. "I'll fix this. I promise I will."

xxxxx

Callen left Sam's house and pulled out of the driveway as quickly as he could as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. He couldn't even believe it. What he had thought would be a happy homecoming had basically turned into a nightmare. He tried not to think of what Sam had said to him, but the words just kept echoing in his head. "You were the adult. You were in charge. You made the wrong decision. My baby girl needed to be with her family, but you don't understand that, do you?"

When he and Sam had first become partners, he had emotionally tried to keep his distance. He didn't trust easily. He'd been burned too many times in the past. But Sam had been so warm, so friendly, loyal and funny. He'd worked his way into Callen's life in spite of Callen's attempts to keep distance between them. Callen had grown to love him like a brother and had trusted him with his life. He'd grown to love his family as if they were his own. Growing up, he had always wished for a brother or a best friend, someone to talk to and to hang with, someone who would always have his back and vice versa. He had thought he had that with Sam. He should have known better. He arrived home, but instead of stopping, he continued to drive. He couldn't stay there. He needed to get away and clear his head. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed Hetty's speed dial number.

"Problems, Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked as she picked up the phone. She was sitting outside in her back yard, enjoying the sunshine with a cup of tea. "Aren't Sam and Michelle due back today?"

"They're already back," Hetty," he said, fighting to keep his voice steady and normal. "This isn't about Kamran…I have a favor to ask…"

Hetty waited, but there was only silence on the other end of the phone. "Well, go ahead and ask, Mr. Callen," she urged. "I'm not a mind reader."

"I'd like to take next week off."

"Is there a reason for this sudden request? Chicken pox perhaps?" She hadn't thought he could have gotten ill so quickly, but maybe she was wrong in her assumption. He had reacted poorly to the vaccine in the past. Perhaps that made a difference?

"What? No." Callen shook his head automatically, even though she wasn't there with him. "It's nothing like that, Hetty. I'm not sick…It's personal…"

"Hmm…you do realize that both you and Mr. Hanna have already been out for a week. I really do need you to be at work."

"Please, Hetty? I don't ask you for much and I rarely take any time off." He was trying to do the right thing here, asking permission for the time off and not just taking off and going lone wolf. He just hoped she wasn't going to make things difficult for him.

Hetty sighed to herself. It wasn't the best time for him to be off, but what he said was true. He really didn't take off much time, but she did find the timing to be peculiar. "Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?"

The silence at the other end of the phone told her some of what she needed to know. She only wished he had come to ask her in person so she could get more of an idea of just how troubled he was. "I would have thought you would be eager to resume work after not seeing Sam for a week…" More silence. Had something happened between him and Sam? She couldn't really imagine such a thing. She tried again. "Will I be able to reach you if I need to?"

"Uh…I'm not sure where I'll be," he said vaguely.

"That just won't do," Hetty said. "I don't want you flying off somewhere. If you come down with the chickenpox, you won't be able to travel by plane until who knows when. I won't sign off on that."

Callen sighed. He hadn't thought of that. "Alright…I'll stay local, Hetty. I promise."

"And you will keep your cell phone on so that I am able to reach you if necessary?"

He hesitated. "I will, but you need to do something for me in return…"

"I didn't realize this was a negotiation, Mr. Callen," Hetty said, but relented when he was silent once again. "Alright, fine…what is it you want?"

"If Sam asks…you can't let Eric or Nell track me, Hetty. I…I don't want him to know where I am…"

Hetty closed her eyes, not liking any of what she was hearing from her lead agent. "Won't you stop by here?" she asked softly. "Come and talk to me about whatever is troubling you. Perhaps, I can help you work it out."

He didn't bother to deny that something was bothering him. He'd pretty much told her there was a problem between him and his partner. "I can't, Hetty." His voice broke slightly and he inwardly cursed his inability to keep himself under control. "Please let me have the week? I…I'll be back at work next Monday. I promise."

"You'll keep your phone on for me?"

"I will…just…"

"I'll see to it that Mr. Hanna doesn't track you down." She didn't like this, not at all. Hopefully, she could get some idea of what was going on from Sam. "You take care of yourself, Mr. Callen."

"I will, Hetty…thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. Callen. Godspeed…"


	6. Chapter 6

Callen disconnected his call with Hetty, turned his cell phone on mute and tossed it onto the passenger seat of his car. He then just concentrated on the road. At that moment, he just felt the urge to escape. He just wanted to drive away from his job, his home and his partner and leave them all behind. He couldn't believe he had actually been stupid enough to think that Sam would be impressed with how well he'd taken care of Kamran. Instead, he'd been made to feel incompetent and like an outsider, some stranger who Sam and Michelle had entrusted their child to. Sam had always said he'd been like a brother to him, but that obviously wasn't the case. He now deeply regretted that he hadn't just called Sam the minute he discovered Kamran was ill, but he had truly thought he was doing the right thing as the doctor hadn't thought it was any big deal. He hadn't wanted to ruin Sam and Michelle's trip. So much for doing what he had thought was right…so much for his partner trusting his judgement. Obviously, he had been very, very wrong in this case. He'd been wrong about a lot of things…

xxxxx

Sam drove to Callen's house and wasn't entirely surprised to find that his partner wasn't there. He had no idea where to even look for him, suspecting that he had gone lone wolf and not really blaming him for doing so. He thought about calling Hetty, but he really didn't want to drag her into this whole thing if she didn't know about it. That would only make things worse. He was pretty sure that Callen would now be impossible to find until Monday morning. Hopefully, once the two were back at OSP, he'd be able to work things out with him. He decided he might as well head home, not particularly looking forward to the reception he was going to get from his wife and daughter.

xxxxx

"I can't believe how mean daddy was to Uncle Callen," Kamran said. She was seated on the sofa next to Michelle, her arms crossed across her chest, obviously very displeased with all that had transpired since her parents had returned.

"I don't think he meant to be mean," Michelle said gently. "I think he was just worried about you and may have overreacted a bit. You know how much he loves you, Kam. He was just being an overprotective father."

"But Uncle Callen must have been so sad," Kam said, her eyes filled with emotion. "He thought he was a part of our family, now who knows what he thinks…"

Michelle hugged her daughter. "He's still a part of our family. We'll make sure he knows that, okay?"

Kam nodded, with a small sigh, not particularly believing her mother.

Just then, the front door opened and Sam walked into the house as Michelle and Kamran both looked at him as one. Michelle could tell right away from his expression that he had been unsuccessful, Kamran, however could not. "Did you talk to Uncle Callen, daddy?" she asked, getting up and running over to him. "Did you tell him you were sorry? That you shouldn't have been so mean to him?"

"I'm sorry, baby girl," Sam said gently. "He wasn't home…"

"But you said he had things to do…why wouldn't he have gone home? Where did he go?" Kamran demanded.

"I…I just think he doesn't want to be found right now," Sam said. "Don't worry. In the worst case, I'll see him at work on Monday. I'll make everything okay, Kamran. I promise I will."

"You don't know that!" Kamran's temper flared and she stamped her foot. "Maybe he will never accept your apology. Maybe he'll just always hate us forever and ever!"

Sam shook his head which now felt like it was about to pop off his head, it was pounding so badly. "That's not going to happen…"

"I'm not talking to you anymore!" Kamran turned her back on her father and fled towards the staircase, then ran up to her room. The sound of her bedroom door slamming echoed through the house a few moments later.

Sam was about to go after her, but Michelle stopped him. "Sam…just leave her alone for now," she said softly. "Why don't you go upstairs and lie down." She could see how upset he was and didn't have it in her to lecture him anymore. "Get some rest…we'll figure this out."

He nodded and gave his wife a pained smile before slowly trudging toward the stairs. Hopefully, he could sleep and get some relief, then maybe he could figure out how to make things right with G.

xxxxx

Callen decided to drive along the coast, hoping the niceness of the day and the scenic ocean views would help him feel better. He drove for close to an hour and a half before he realized how hungry he was. He started to pay more attention to the surrounding area and began searching for someplace to get some lunch. He wasn't in a very touristy or overpopulated area, but eventually, a small hole in the wall type restaurant called "Millie's Café" caught his eye. He pulled his car up to the front, got out and walked into the restaurant.

Millie Cooper, a friendly-appearing woman in her late 60's looked up as the door to her restaurant opened and the handsome man with the striking blue eyes walked inside. "You can sit wherever you like," she called out to him. The Saturday afternoon lunch rush had died down and there were quite a few tables from which to choose from. She watched as he momentarily studied the available tables and then settled on a corner table by the window which gave him a view of both the outside through the window as well as the entranceway. She picked up a menu and brought it over to him. "Hello there, I'm Millie," she said, handing him the menu. "Can I get you some coffee?"

He looked up at her and nodded. She couldn't help but notice his eyes looked a little bit sad. "Coffee would be good, thanks," he said. She left him and went back behind the counter to get the pot filled with fresh, hot coffee then returned to his table, stopping to retrieve a tip that had been left for her beforehand. "Need more time?" she asked as she poured the coffee into the cup on his table.

"Do you recommend anything?" he asked.

"The meatloaf is a local favorite and the hot turkey sandwich," she said. "But Patrick is an excellent cook. I stand by anything you order off the menu."

"I'll try the hot turkey sandwich," he said, giving her a faint smile.

Millie nodded and headed back to the window to the kitchen where she handed the order slip off to Patrick.

After Callen ordered his lunch from who he assumed was the owner of the restaurant, unless there was more than one Millie, he settled back in his chair and took a look at his surroundings. Millie, a thin woman with short, curly greying hair and a seemingly friendly disposition was the only person working. Although there were only a handful of customers in the establishment, he couldn't imagine she was the only person who worked there if it was more crowded. Maybe there were more employees for the breakfast and early lunch hours. He was trying to stay focused on the here and now and not think about that morning, but his thoughts started to stray in spite of his best efforts. He started to think about Kamran and he felt bad that he had left without saying goodbye to her. She was a child, after all. She wasn't going to understand his abrupt departure. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Millie returning to his table until she had put the food down in front of him. There was real turkey on bread with mashed potatoes, carrots, stuffing, all smothered with gravy and some cranberry sauce and hot rolls and butter on the side.

"Wow…that's a lot of food," Callen remarked. It almost reminded him of Thanksgiving dinner. "It looks great."

"Let me know if you need anything else," Millie said with a smile as she left him and went to drop off a check at another table.

Callen dug into the meal and found that he was even hungrier than he had realized. Everything was really good and he ate almost everything Millie had brought him. Shortly after he had finished, she brought him over a piece of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. "I don't think I can eat another bite," he said, eyeing the pie. It looked very good, but he was really stuffed.

"Are you sure?" Millie asked with a friendly smile. "I baked it and its pretty good if I do say so myself."

"Well…"

"Just taste it," she said.

Unable to resist, Callen put his fork into the pie and gave a satisfied sigh as he savored the combination of flaky crust and hot, sweet apples . "Oh man…this is really good," he said. "I guess Patrick isn't the only excellent cook here. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Millie went and retrieved a wet cloth and began wiping down a recently vacated table adjacent to Callen's table. She couldn't help but feel gratified when she saw him obviously enjoying the pie. "So, I don't recall seeing you here before," Millie said. She knew there was no way she would have forgotten him. "Just passing through?"

"Um…kind of…I guess…" he said, looking and sounding a bit lost.

Millie's heart went out to him. She could see that he was troubled. Her deceased husband, Michael, had always told her she became too involved in the lives of their customers, but he had always been a quiet man, preferring to work behind the scenes and leaving the socializing and customer interaction to her.

"Sometimes it helps to talk to a stranger." She couldn't help but want to know more about him. She could picture Michael shaking his head at her, partly disapproving, but partly amused at her sometimes very obvious attempts to mother troubled souls. "Someone with a totally impartial point of view..."

He looked at her, seeming to consider her offer, but then shook his head. "I should probably get going," he said softly. "Could I have the check please?"

"Any idea where you're headed?" she asked as she tore his check off her pad and handed it to him.

"No…I'm not really sure…" He looked down at the check. "You didn't add on for the pie," he commented. "How much was it?"

"Oh that was on the house," Millie said. "You didn't order it. Besides, we close at 3 on Saturday afternoons. People don't exactly flock here on a Saturday evening. It would have just gone to waste."

Callen didn't try to change her mind but just added on another few dollars to the tip. "That's all set," he said, handing her a wad of bills.

"Thank you very much," Millie said to him. She started to walk away but then hesitated. "You know…" she began. "I may be overstepping here, and please stop me if I am, but my son owns a beach house, just a short distance from here. He moved to the east coast, but we kept the house to rent out. There's no one there right now. Just a suggestion, if you're looking for somewhere to stay. It's quiet, peaceful and right by the water. I'm almost done here. I could take you by to take a look at it. Or you can just tell me to mind my own business." She laughed. "My dearly departed husband was always telling me I butted into people's lives too much for my own good."

Callen thought about her offer for a few long moments and then nodded. "That would be nice," he said. "If you're sure it's no trouble…thank you."

Millie, smiled, pleased that he was willing to take a look. "No trouble at all. I won't be long."

"I can help," he began, looking at her, obviously wanting to do so.

"Well, if you'd like, you can put the chairs up on the tables," she said. "I'll go help Patrick finish up in the back and we can be on our way."

xxxxx

Callen followed along behind Millie as she drove to the beach house. Five minutes later she pulled up in front and he pulled his car up behind hers. He got out of the car and the two walked over to the entrance. "It's not too big," she said as she put her key into the lock, "but I think it's cozy. Certainly big enough for one person."

They entered the living room and Callen was immediately enchanted. The house was small, but it was perfect and had everything he could ask for. The ocean was only about 40 feet away from the house. Millie told him about all the amenities, washer, dryer, microwave, toaster, Keurig and wireless Internet. The bedroom had a king-sized bed with a modern master bathroom attached. There was also a recliner with a reading lamp and a desk. French doors led from the bedroom to the balcony with a beautiful view. The walls were tastefully decorated with paintings of seascapes while the living room had a blue sofa and matching chair with multiple bookcases containing countless books. It was the exact opposite of his own minimally furnished home, but he loved it. It was perfect.

He turned to Millie, feeling a little bit better for the first time since Sam and his wife had returned earlier that day. He now had a place to mull things over without having unwanted disturbances. "How much would it be to rent it for the week?" he asked. "I'd like to rent it until next Sunday if that's possible."

She nodded, glad that he liked the house. "One hundred dollars a night?" she asked. "Does that work for you?"

"Are you sure?" he asked, giving her a questioning look. That seemed impossibly cheap to him. "I mean…shouldn't it be more?" He had the money. He certainly wasn't overly frivolous with money. He could afford whatever the going rate was for such a place. He didn't want to take advantage of this kindly woman.

She nodded again. She hadn't expected anyone to be renting it that week. Any extra money at all would be welcome and she didn't wish to overcharge him.

"Okay…thank you," he said, a trace of a smile on his lips as he looked around once more. "I'll take it."


	7. Chapter 7

After Millie left him, Callen set about exploring the rental home on his own. The homey feeling of it actually made him rethink his minimalistic lifestyle. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get one or two bookshelves and fill them with books and perhaps hang a picture or two. It was something to consider anyway. After looking around the house, he decided to take a walk along the beach. It was a nice day, windy but warm, and except for a handful of people out walking or jogging, he seemed to be staying in a pretty isolated area. It appeared to be a perfect place for him to relax and try to get a handle on things.

Following his walk, Callen headed back to the house and browsed through the various books on the shelves. He grabbed a novel which he thought might interest him and settled down to read. Dinner time came and went, but he had eaten a late lunch and was definitely not hungry for a meal. He could have used a snack, but it wasn't important enough for him to go out in search of one. He just figured he would go out the following day and buy some snack-type foods, drinks and maybe some ice cream. At around 9 p.m. he decided to call it a day. He undressed and stretched out on the bed, finding the mattress to be exceedingly comfortable. He then drifted off to sleep, listening to the sound of the waves washing up on the shore, as the gentle breeze wafted over him through the screen door leading to the balcony.

xxxxx

Dinner in the Hanna household that evening was a dismal affair. After a little bit of sleep, Sam's headache had finally gone from an intense pounding to a dull throb. He, Michelle and Kamran were seated at the table eating Michelle's baked macaroni and cheese casserole, which was one of Kam's favorites. The youngest Hanna family member was just picking at her food though, obviously still in a mood over what had happened between Sam and Callen. Sam wasn't really eating much either.

Michelle sighed. "Not eating isn't going to fix anything," she finally said.

"I'm not very hungry," Kamran said, looking at her mother woefully. "Can I be excused please?"

Michelle hesitated and then nodded. "Go ahead."

Kamran quickly got up and fled from the table, escaping back to the sanctuary of her bedroom.

"You should have made her eat," Sam said, putting his fork down beside his plate.

"Really, Sam?" Michelle said. "And what about you? Should I make you eat too?"

"I'm not a child."

"No, maybe not, but you're acting like one."

"I'm not acting like a child," Sam retorted.

"You're sulking, Sam and that's not going to solve the problem."

"What would you have me do?" he asked her, barely keeping his anger in check. "I don't know where he is."

"I know that, but it's not a permanent situation. Maybe you should be thinking about exactly how you're going to work through this once you do find him."

"I'll figure it out."

"Have you talked to Hetty? Does she know what's going on? How do you know he isn't there?"

"No, I haven't talked to Hetty and he wouldn't have gone running to her."

"Fine, Sam." Michelle got up and began to clear the table. Sam quickly got up and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll do that," he said softly.

She looked up at him and nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I'll be in the living room."

He watched as she left the room and he began to stack the dishes, his mind on his partner and how a few unwise words had brought about such damage to Callen and caused such a breech between them.

xxxxx

Callen awoke a little bit after eight. For a split second he was confused about his surroundings, but then he remembered all that had happened the previous day. In spite of that, he had slept like a rock, which was an unusual occurrence for him. He sat up and fluffed the pillows, then leaned his back against them. He wasn't really sure what to do with himself. He debated on going to get some breakfast, but he wasn't all that hungry at the moment and Millie's place would likely be crowded with the Sunday morning breakfast crowd. He'd prefer waiting until it was at least a little bit quieter. His thoughts went to his partner and Sam's words the day before. Did Sam really have so little trust in him that he had disagreed with every decision Callen had made regarding Kamran? Didn't he realize how Callen felt about his family? Maybe that was the problem…Maybe Sam didn't realize it. Maybe what Callen had felt for Sam and his family was a one-way street. Maybe it was inappropriate how Callen felt about them and all of Sam's words over the years about how they were 'brothers' were just words. Feeling overwhelmingly sad, Callen got up and put on shorts and a t-shirt, deciding to go for a run. Hopefully, that would help him to at least temporarily, put his troubles behind him.

xxxxx

Sam did not sleep well. He kept rerunning the words he had spoken to Callen in his mind and he wished he could set the rewind button and change them. Why hadn't he just expressed his appreciation for Callen taking care of his daughter? The combination of his headache, exhaustion and just overall crankiness had taken their toll and in turn, he had slammed the easiest target in his path. At a little after 5 am, he finally got out of bed and showered. He was getting dressed when Michelle rolled over in bed and looked at him sleepily. "Sam? What are you doing?"

"Go back to sleep, baby…I'm going to see if I can find him."

"At 5 in the morning? He's probably sleeping, like you should be."

"I can't sleep," Sam said. "I need to try."

Michelle sighed softly and nodded. "Alright…good luck."

"Thanks, baby. I'll see you later."

He left her and walked out to the Challenger, heading first to Callen's house. His partner's car was not in the driveway, but Sam still got out of his vehicle. He looked inside the mailbox which had a few assorted pieces of mail in it. "So, you didn't even stop here at all," he said to himself. It made him feel even worse to realize that Callen had been so upset he hadn't even stopped at his own home. He got into the Challenger and decided to drive around to some of Callen's favorite places to go. Maybe he'd be lucky. "I'm so sorry, G," he said quietly as he drove. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

xxxxx

Callen went for a run and then went back to the beach house to shower and dress. He then decided to throw all the clothes in his duffel bag into the washing machine. He took the book he was reading and went out to the balcony to read and wait for the laundry to be done. It was hard for him to concentrate on the book though as he kept thinking about Kamran. Finally, unable to stop himself from doing so, he picked up his cell phone and hit the button with her name on it.

xxxxx

Kamran was lying on her bed coloring a picture when the phone rang. She squealed happily when she saw who was calling her. "Uncle Callen!" she said as she clicked on the phone. "I am soooo happy to hear from you. I am so mad at daddy. Mom is too. She is very angry with him."

"Hi Kam," Callen said, once he could get a word in. "I wanted to apologize to you for leaving so quickly yesterday."

"Oh that's okay. I know it wasn't your fault," she assured him.

There was a part of him that couldn't help but be pleased that Kamran and Michelle were angry with Sam, no matter how petty that thought might be.

"Daddy is out looking for you," she said, sounding almost gleeful. "He's very upset with himself. He knows he treated you terribly."

"He's looking for me?" Callen asked. Damn… that wasn't good. He hoped Hetty was keeping her word and that she wasn't going to allow Sam to use the resources at OSP to find him. He hadn't even thought he would need to worry about Sam until he went back to work.

"He left very early. He was even gone before breakfast. No pancakes for him. But then he called Mom. He said he has no idea where to look because you're not at your house. Did you finally decide to take a vacation?"

"Yeah…something like that," Callen said vaguely.

"Did you go far away?" She asked curiously. "I won't tell daddy where you went."

"I don't want you to have to lie to your father, Kam," Callen said. "I found a nice place. It's a house right on the beach." That wasn't too much information. There were countless houses on beaches in California. There was no way Sam could track him from that information.

"That sounds very nice," Kamran said. "I'm glad you found a good place for a vacation, but aren't you lonely?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted, feeling a little bit emotional. "But I'm fine, Kam, okay? I just wanted to let you know that."

"Thank you, Uncle Callen," she said. "I'm very glad you called me. You were the best babysitter in the whole world. Thank you for taking care of me. I think you did a great job!"

"Thanks, Kam. I'm glad you think so," he said with a chuckle.

"Should I keep it a secret that you called?" she asked.

"No, sweetheart," Callen said. "Like I said, I don't want you to have to lie to your dad, even a lie of omission. It's okay to tell him I called you, but unless I call you, don't try to call me back okay? I probably won't answer it…"

"Because you're mad at daddy?"

"No…" He wasn't about to further intensify whatever bad feelings Kamran had towards her father. "I'm just going to have my ringer off, because I'm on vacation…"

"Okay, Uncle Callen. I love you. I hope you have a fun vacation."

"Thanks, Kam. I love you too." He clicked off his phone and somehow felt a little bit better about things. At least he knew Michelle and Kamran had his back, even if his partner and so-called best friend did not.

xxxxx

After his laundry was done, Callen got into the car and headed for Millie's Café. It was actually getting close to lunchtime. He had assumed it wouldn't be too crowded later in the morning, but he really had nothing to base that assumption on. A lot of people ate late, leisurely breakfasts on Sunday mornings. There were definitely more cars parked outside than there had been the previous day. "Good morning, Grisha," Millie said when he entered the restaurant. "Sit wherever you'd like."

Millie had asked to see his license when they had filled out the house rental agreement form, so she had seen his name. It was still kind of weird whenever someone called him by his given name, but he supposed it was nice too. The restaurant was more crowded than the day before, but his previous table was unoccupied so he took a seat there. As he sat down and looked around, he was gratified to see two other waitresses working in the diner, both were young, maybe college age. It was good to know Millie didn't have to work alone. "Did you sleep well?" Millie asked as she arrived at his table and poured him a cup of coffee.

"Very well," he said with a nod. "It's a great place."

"Good, good, I'm glad you like it," she said. "Are you ready to order or do you need more time?"

"I'll have the breakfast combo number one," he said. "Eggs over easy, wheat toast and home fries."

Millie quickly scribbled down his order and headed back behind the counter as Callen scanned the clientele in the restaurant. There were two older couples, one family with two young children and a trio of middle-aged women. By the time his breakfast arrived, a short time later, the family and the table of women had left. "Mind if I take a seat? I'm long overdue for a break." Millie waited for his nod before she sat down across from him. "I won't be offended if you tell me to bug off."

"I'd enjoy the company," he said, smiling at her. "Busy morning?"

"Not too bad," she said. "Pretty typical Sunday morning."

"This is good," he said, after eating a few bites of food. "So, how long have you had this place?"

"Oh, a long time," Millie said, thinking back. "My husband and I opened it up right after our youngest started school. That was almost thirty-five years ago." She laughed. "Damn, time really does fly by when you actually sit down and think about it."

"How many children do you have?" he asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Three, two boys and a girl. Ben is my oldest. He's the one whose beach house you are staying in. He's out in Boston now with his family. Then there's Sarah and my youngest is John. They're both local. How about you? Any children?"

He shook his head. "No…"

Millie looked at him thoughtfully, there had seemed to be a flash of emotion in his eyes when she asked the question. "And what about work?" she asked, with a gentle smile. "Unless you just travel the country staying at various beach houses?"

"No," Callen said with a chuckle. "I…I'm actually in law enforcement."

"Well, that's good and noble work," she said. "Helping to protect us from some of the evil doers in the world. You should be proud."

He shrugged, looking down at his plate as he ate some more of his breakfast, not knowing what to say.

"Modest too, I gather?" she asked, smiling at him. Her smile deepened when a faint blush covered his cheeks. He was such a nice man. She wanted to know more about him, but feared being too pushy. "So, you're from Los Angeles…you didn't stray too far away for your vacation…"

"It…it wasn't really a planned vacation…"

"Oh? Well, sometimes spur of the moment trips are the best kind."

He nodded. "I guess…I…" He hesitated, taking another sip of coffee.

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to pry. Whatever your reasons are for coming out here are your own business. You certainly don't owe me any explanations."

"I don't mind," he said softly. What could it hurt? She didn't know any of the people involved. It wouldn't really matter if he told her. "With my job…I have a partner…we've been partners for about 10 years now. Anyhow, I've always thought of him as my best friend. I'd always have his back and I knew he'd have mine…"

She nodded, not saying anything.

"Anyhow…he and his wife, went on a trip. I can't really explain, but they couldn't receive any outside calls. If they did, they'd have to return home."

"That sounds harsh," she said.

Callen nodded. "I took care of their daughter while they were away and…she came down with chicken pox."

"Oh dear," Millie commented. "That's certainly no fun, not for either of you."

"Not for her, no. For me, it wasn't so bad. I called the doctor and she said she thought it would only be mild as she had been vaccinated. She didn't think I had to call her parents. I didn't want to ruin their trip…"

"Oh…I take it your partner was not in agreement with your decision?"

Callen shook his head slowly. "No…he wasn't…"

"Well, sometimes dads are just super protective of their little girls. I'm sure he'll come around."

"I guess…It's just…he said some stuff…stuff I never thought he'd say to me…"

"Something you can't forgive?"

"I don't know," said Callen with a sigh. "Maybe I could forgive him, but…it's just the kind of thing I wouldn't have expected from him, of all people. He knows more about me than anyone else. I trusted him with my life."

"And now you don't?"

"I don't know…but that's why I came out here. I just had to get away. The thought of having to work with him tomorrow…I don't know, I just couldn't deal with it."

"I don't know him…and I don't know you very well either, but it sounds like you just need a little bit of time and space to clear your head. Sometimes people in this world disappoint us, Grisha. It's the people we are closest to who have the ability to hurt us the most. I guess you have some thinking to do, and I think you picked out a pretty nice place to try to do that. And if there's anything I can do for you… If you want another opinion or just need someone to listen, I'd be more than happy to do that for you."

"Thank you, Millie," Callen said.

"I'll let you finish your breakfast," she said, smiling at Callen before getting to her feet and getting back to work.

Callen returned Millie's smile and went back to eating his breakfast, his thoughts once again on Sam and his family.


	8. Chapter 8

"I sure will be glad to get back to work today and get things straightened out with G," Sam said. He and his family were sitting at the table together, eating breakfast.

"I'm happy I get to go back to school too," Kamran said. She was practically bouncing in her seat, she was so excited. "Sometimes I think I hate school, but when I was home, I really missed it. I miss Bridget and all my friends."

"Kam, sweetie, do you have all your homework together?" Michelle asked as she handed her daughter some buttered toast to go with her cereal.

Kam nodded, "I have everything."

"So have you decided what you're going to say to him?" Michelle turned her attention to her husband.

"Not exactly," Sam said. "I'm sure I'll figure it out once I see him."

"What if he's still angry with you?" Kamran asked.

"I'm sure I can get him to see that I'm very sorry for what I said to him," Sam said.

"What if Uncle Callen isn't at work?" Kamran asked, with a giggle. "Maybe he's on vacation."

"He's not on vacation," Sam said. "He just had a week off."

"Really, Sam?" Michelle asked him with a look of disbelief. "That's what you think last week was for him? A week off? Didn't he say he did some work at home? And he certainly wasn't getting much R&R."

"Maybe Uncle Callen is at Disneyland," Kamran said, laughing. "Maybe he went to the Grand Canyon."

"Your Uncle Callen isn't at any of those places, Kamran," Sam said patiently. "He's going to be at work and I'm sure everything is going to be fine between us, okay?"

"Whatever you say, daddy," Kamran said, giggling again and hiding her mouth behind her hand. "I have to go. I don't want to miss the bus. Have a good day. Tell Uncle Callen I said hello." Kamran then started laughing again as she ran off to get her backpack. "Bye mom!"

"Have fun, sweetheart," Michelle said, looking on in amusement at her daughter as she ran outside, slamming the door behind her.

"What's gotten into her?" Sam asked, not looking particularly amused. "One minute she's mad about Callen, the next minute it's like she thinks the whole thing is a joke."

"Oh Sam, don't start getting all grouchy again," Michelle said. "She's young and she's excited to be going back to school. Would you prefer her to be miserable?"

"No, of course I wouldn't," Sam said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, baby…I guess this thing with G is just really getting to me."

"I know it is." Michelle looked at him sympathetically. "You should probably get going. The sooner you get there, the sooner you'll be able to put this all behind you. And make sure you invite him for dinner tonight or as soon as he can make it, okay?"

"I will," Sam said, smiling at her as he got up from the table then leaned down to kiss her. "I'll let you know how it goes."

"Good luck, Sam," Michelle said. "I hope this goes the way you want it to."

xxxxx

"And the king of the second honeymoon returns!" Deeks said enthusiastically as Sam walked over to his desk. "How are you, Sam? How was your trip?"

"It wasn't a second honeymoon, Deeks," Sam said. "It was a very intense training course. You know that."

"I'm sure you had had some time for fun, didn't you," Kensi chimed in from her desk. "In any case, did you have a good time?"

"It was fine," Sam replied shortly.

"How's Kamran?" Kensi asked. "Poor Callen was so worried. I felt so bad for him. He was so afraid he wasn't doing enough for her."

"But he did great, didn't he?" Deeks said, grinning at Sam. "Hetty said he came through like a champ."

"Is G here yet?" Sam asked.

"No," Kensi said, shaking her head. "We kind of thought he'd be coming in with you today."

"No…not today," Sam said glumly as he sat down at his desk, feeling more guilty by the second. He really hoped his partner would be there soon.

xxxxx

"I don't understand…" Eric said, looking at Hetty unhappily. "Why doesn't Callen want Sam to know where he is?"

"That really isn't our concern, Mr. Beale. I just want your and Miss Jones' word that you will not give in to any request Mr. Hanna may have to track down his partner. I promised Mr. Callen that we would keep his secret."

"Don't you think it's kind of weird, Hetty?" Nell asked. "They're partners…it doesn't make any sense."

"Please just promise me, Miss Jones," Hetty said. "No matter how weird you may think it is. It really isn't your job to analyze why he's making the request. Please just make sure you do what Mr. Callen asked."

"What if Callen was in trouble?" Eric said. "Maybe someone was forcing him to say that."

Hetty sighed wearily. "I can assure you that he was saying this on his own. No one was forcing him to do or say anything against his will."

"I promise, Hetty," Nell finally said. "I won't give Sam any information about Callen's whereabouts."

"Yeah, okay…I promise too," Eric said reluctantly.

"Thank you," Hetty said. "That's all for now. You can get back to work." Hetty then left them and headed back downstairs where she found Sam waiting for her at her desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Hanna," Hetty said as she sat down. "How was your trip? I trust you and Michelle had a fulfilling time?"

"Do you know where he is?" Hanna asked, ignoring her question.

"If by he, you're referring to Mr. Callen, I have no idea where he is," Hetty replied. "In fact, I was hoping you could fill me in. What exactly happened between the two of you?"

"So you did talk to him." When?"

"I spoke with him on Saturday. He requested vacation time which I gave to him. Although he tried to cover it up, he was obviously very upset."

"How much time off did you give him?" Sam asked, feeling totally at a loss with this newest development.

"One week," Hetty informed him. "He assured me he would be back at work next Monday. Now would you please give me some idea of what this is all about?"

Sam ran his hand over his face and sighed. "I said something to him I never should have said. I was angry about Kamran and…"

"What about Kamran?" Hetty interrupted him. "She seemed to be doing quite well when I saw her Thursday evening. Did she take a turn for the worse?"

Sam shook his head. "No…no Kam is fine. She's going back to school today."

"So, what is it you were angry about?" Hetty asked, looking puzzled.

"Chickenpox isn't like a cold, Hetty," Sam began. "I think he should have called us and let us know what was going on."

"It was a very mild case, Sam," Hetty said. "The doctor said as much. Mr. Callen didn't want to ruin your trip. He thought he was doing the right thing. I can tell you that he took very good care of your daughter. She adores him and from what I've seen, the feeling is quite mutual."

"I know he took good care of her," Sam admitted with a sigh.

"I still can't imagine he got so upset over you thinking he should have called you. Unless…just how heated did the disagreement between the two of you get?"

"You probably don't really want to know."

"Surely it didn't get physical?" Hetty asked.

"No…nothing like that." Sam shook his head and spoke quietly. "I… I told him that Kamran needed to be with family, but…but that he didn't understand that…"

"I see…"

"Come on, Hetty," Sam said after a few long moments of silence. "I know you've got more to say than 'I see.'"

"How does Michelle feel about all this?" Hetty asked.

"She's one hundred percent on G's side," Sam stated. "As is Kamran."

"She's an opinionated child," Hetty said, a faint smile touching the corners of her lips.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Sam asked.

"I'm pretty sure there's nothing I have to say that you haven't already said to yourself by now. I can see how unhappy you are with the situation and I know that you're sorry. I know how close you are to him. I dare say he's probably told you things in the past that I don't even know about. He's always trusted you…"

"But now?"

"I don't know, Sam…" Hetty said, shaking her head. "I really don't know."

"Do you know where he went?" Sam asked. "I can't try to fix this until I can find him."

"He didn't tell me where he was going."

"Okay, not a problem. It's a long shot, but maybe his phone is on. Maybe the wonder twins can track him down."

"No."

"No?" Sam gave Hetty a bewildered look. "What do you mean, no? I need to at least try, Hetty. I don't want to have to wait a week to talk to him."

"I'm sorry, Sam, but I promised him I would not allow Eric and Nell to track him down. I intend to keep that promise."

"You mean, he doesn't want me to track him down, don't you," Sam said, appearing to deflate in front of Hetty's eyes. "I can't believe I was so stupid…I really wish I hadn't said those words to him…"

"I think you'll be able to mend this, Sam, but it may take time. You know how deep his trust issues lie, how hard it is for him to get close to people…"

"I know, Hetty…I really screwed this up."

"Well…I guess you'll have plenty of time to think about it," Hetty said. "A whole week, in fact."

"Yeah…I guess I will…thanks…" He forced a grim smile in Hetty's direction then got to his feet and went back out to his desk.

"What's up?" Deeks asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

"Nothing's up." Sam turned on his laptop in an attempt to look busy.

"So, did you find out where Callen is?" Kensi asked.

"He's on vacation."

"Vacation?" Deeks asked. "Well that's weird. Wouldn't he have told you he was going?"

Sam ignored him and Kensi shot Deeks a warning look with her eyes.

"I mean, he took care of your kid for a week and then he takes off on vacation? These pieces aren't exactly fitting the puzzle, Sam, my man. Unless, did he need to recover from taking care of Kam. Oh! I know! Does he have chickenpox? He does, doesn't he?"

"Are you kidding me?" Sam asked, looking at Deeks angrily. "How can you not see that I don't want to talk about this, not even a little bit? I would tell you if he had the damn chickenpox!"

"I…"

"Something happened that I don't want to talk about and I'm not going to talk about. Callen is gone until next Monday and I don't want to hear another word about it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, fine," Deeks said giving Sam a wary look. "Whatever you say, Sam."

"Good. And now I am going to go work out." Sam pushed his chair back from his desk and stormed off, leaving Kensi and Deeks looking after him in total confusion.

"It's going to be one terrific week," Deeks muttered. "Let's hope you and I get sent out in the field **a lot**."

Kensi nodded in agreement, but she couldn't help but be worried about whatever was going on between the two senior agents of their team.

xxxxx

Sam entered the house feeling as exhausted as he had felt after getting off the plane on Saturday. He had been in a bad mood all day. Kensi and Deeks had steered clear of him as had Eric and Nell. He had thought about approaching them, but felt like Hetty had been watching him constantly so he hadn't. Maybe he would try tomorrow.

"Hi sweetheart, how was your day?" Michelle came into the living room from the kitchen. "No Callen for dinner?"

"No."

Kamran came down the stairs just then, doing a combination of walking and dance moves as she listened to her Iphone. "Hi daddy."

"Hi pumpkin," Sam said.

"So, did you get things sorted out between the two of you?" Michelle asked.

"Not exactly."

"Why not?"

"Because Uncle Callen is on vacation!" Kamran said, breaking into a fit of giggles.

"Wait? What?" Sam looked over at his laughing daughter. "You…you knew and you didn't tell me? I…how did you know?"

"I told you he might be on vacation, daddy," Kamran said, smiling impishly at her father. "You're the one who said he wasn't."

"You talked to him?"

"Yes, he called me yesterday."

"He put you up to this? He told you to lie to me? Damn it, G."

"He did **not** tell me to lie," Kamran said, her anger flaring quickly. "I didn't want to tell you because you've been so mean. He told me to tell you, that I shouldn't lie. He said I shouldn't even tell you a lie of a mission, whatever that means. He just didn't say when I could tell you. So, I'm telling you now, even though you are still being mean about him and he didn't even do anything wrong."

Sam looked away from his daughter and glanced at his wife, who was very obviously trying not to smile.

"It's not funny," he muttered under his breath as he turned back to Kamran. "Did he happen to tell you where he is?"

"Yes he did."

"Well?"

"Well, what, daddy?"

Sam narrowed his eyes at his daughter who was obviously playing him. "Where is he?"

"He's at a beach house."

Sam shook his head as he tried with every fiber of his being not to lose his temper. "Where is the beach house, Kamran?"

"Oh, he didn't tell me that."

"You see," Sam said to Michelle. "He knows exactly what he's doing. He…he's trying to drive me nuts. He's punishing me for what I said."

"Sam, you're being ridiculous," Michelle turned to Kamran. "Sweetheart, go get washed up for dinner, okay?"

Kamran nodded and headed to the bathroom.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Sam asked after Kamran had left. "Trying to turn my daughter against me like this?"

"Oh my God, Sam, you can't be serious." Michelle gave her husband an incredulous look. "He called our daughter, Sam. It was a nice thing for him to do. They have a bond. He obviously felt bad about what happened and wanted to reassure her. I'm sure he understood that she would be upset. You need to stop blaming him for this. None of it is his fault. It all stems from the fact that he was trying to do a good thing for you…for your family. He had nothing but the best of intentions from the day he offered to watch Kamran for us."

"He's your best friend, Sam and has always treated you as one. You might want to start treating him the same way in return..."


	9. Chapter 9

Tuesday and Wednesday passed slowly for the separated partners. For Callen's part, he was discovering that rest and relaxation might be good for a few days but it was now Thursday, day six, and he'd had enough of it. He didn't want to go home yet though as he was pretty sure Sam would show up and he didn't feel ready to deal with his partner. As for the beach house, it was a really nice place. He could imagine Kensi and Deeks having a wonderful vacation here, swimming, surfing and just laughing and having fun together. He could also imagine Sam's family here, Kamran running along the beach and playing, just having a great time. If he was a writer or an artist, it would probably be a great locale as well, but truthfully, he was getting more than a little bored. He was sick of reading and watching t.v. He had started and finished a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. He had swum a fair amount, walked and ran and gotten more sleep on a daily basis than he had probably gotten in years. He had even gone to a flea market where he had found what he thought was a pretty bracelet which he had bought for Kamran. But this peaceful lifestyle just wasn't his cup of tea. He was determined to stick it out though. He had three more days and he would head home on Sunday morning. Then, on Monday, he would face off with his partner and see where the two of them stood.

xxxxx

Finally, early on Thursday morning, Sam caught Eric alone at the bottom of the staircase. He was pretty sure Hetty had been keeping the wonder twins away from him, but even Hetty wasn't perfect. "Hey Eric," Sam said, giving him a friendly smile. "What's up? I haven't had a chance to talk to you all week."

"Hey, Sam…" Eric gave the other man a clearly nervous smile. "I'm good, how are you? Sorry I can't chat but we're super busy." He made a move to hurry off but Sam blocked his path.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a favor before you take off."

"I…I really have to go."

"Just a small favor, Eric…I was just wondering if you could maybe track Callen's phone for me and let me know where he is? He's not answering and I have something important I need to talk to him about if he's not too far away."

"Uh…I really can't, Sam," Eric said nervously. "I…I…"

"Mr. Beale, Miss Jones needs you upstairs right away," Hetty said as she walked up to the two men. "I suggest you get up there pronto."

"Of course, right away, Hetty." Eric gave the operations manager a grateful smile and bolted up the stairs as fast as he could.

"Oh Mr. Hanna," Hetty said, shaking her head. "I must say, I am very disappointed in you."

"Really, Hetty? It's Thursday," Sam said. "G is going to be home in just a few more days. What difference does it make if I find out where he is a little early?"

"And I could say to you, what difference does it make for you to wait a few more days?" Hetty asked. "I would think you would be concerned enough about Mr. Callen to respect his wishes in this matter. That is, if you care for him as much as you say you do."

"Of course I care about him, Hetty," Sam said. "He's my best friend. I just miss him, that's all and I feel really bad about what's happened between us."

"I believe that you do," Hetty said, nodding. "But in his eyes, I do think that honoring his wishes would go further towards making amends then deliberately disregarding his request for privacy."

Sam thought about her words then slowly nodded. "Alright, Hetty, you win," he said, looking somewhat dejected. "I'll stop trying to find him. I'll just see him on Monday morning. Happy?"

"Nothing about this situation makes me happy, Sam," Hetty said. "I'm just trying to do what I think is best to hopefully dissolve this tension between the two of you and get things back to normal."

xxxxx

Kamran awoke a little bit later than usual on Thursday. Whereas teacher in-service days at school were usually fun days, Bridget already had plans to visit her cousins for the day and Kamran had no idea what she was going to do with herself. She tossed her covers aside and got out of bed, shivering slightly as she put on her slippers and robe. She then headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Kamran." Michelle smiled at her daughter as she came into the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"I can just have cereal," Kam said. "You don't have to cook anything."

"You know I don't mind, baby," Michelle said. "Do you want pancakes or maybe a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream?"

"Really?" Kamran asked. "Okay, I'll have that."

Michelle set to work making the Belgian waffle batter as Kamran watched with interest. "Maybe this would have been easier for Uncle Callen to make instead of pancakes," she said as Michelle poured the batter into the waffle maker.

Michelle smiled. "He really had a rough time?"

"Yes," said Kamran with a giggle. "But he tried really hard."

"I'm sure he did."

"I hope he's having a nice vacation even though he's lonely," Kamran said with a sad sigh.

"You think he's lonely?" Michelle asked her daughter.

Kamran nodded. "Yes…he thought that we were his family, but now…" she shrugged. "He might not think so anymore, after what daddy did."

"You do know that daddy didn't mean what he said," Michelle said, not wanting their daughter to carry a grudge against her father. "He's very sorry about what he said to your Uncle Callen."

"I know, but he's still at the beach house all alone. It must be lonesome for him. I would be lonely if I was there all alone, even if it is a nice place."

Michelle nodded thoughtfully. "Sweetie, why don't you go get your phone and give Uncle Callen a call. Ask if he'll speak to me."

"He told me he would probably have the volume down and that he wouldn't answer if I called," Kamran said.

"Well, let's just try anyway, okay? You never know until you try."

Kamran smiled at her mother with a nod then ran off to get her phone. She returned just a couple of minutes later. "I got it," she said, holding up her phone breathlessly.

"Well, when you catch your breath, you can call him," Michelle said, smiling.

"My breath is caught," Kamran said as she pressed the picture of Callen on her phone, then waited in anticipation to see if he would answer.

xxxxx

When he heard the phone ringing, Callen picked it up, expecting to see Sam's number. His partner called him several times daily. There were some times when Callen had almost been tempted to answer it, but he definitely didn't want to try to solve things over what was sure to be an awkward telephone call. When he saw Kamran's number, his first instinct told him that Sam had taken her phone, but would he really do that? Then again, Kamran would be at school. What if it was important? What if she was in some kind of trouble? He couldn't not answer it, just in case. "Hello?" he said as he clicked the phone on.

"Uncle Callen!" Kamran's exuberant voice came over on the other end of the phone. "I'm so happy to hear your voice!"

"It's good to hear your voice too," Callen said with a chuckle, more happy than he would have thought possible to be hearing from her. "How are you, Kamran? Is everything okay?"

"Yes everything is good. I have a day off from school today. Uh…my mom wants to talk to you. Will you talk to her?"

Callen hesitated. "Yeah, sure…I'll talk to your mom, Kam…"

"Hi Callen," Michelle's tentative voice spoke at the other end of the line. "How are you?"

"I…I'm good, Michelle. How are you?" he asked.

"Oh Callen, I'm alright…I just feel really bad about what happened. Sam never should have said what he said to you. I do know how sorry he is, if that helps at all."

He really didn't even know what to say to her. He did know that she didn't feel the same way her husband did. There was an awkward silence as he struggled to figure out what to say.

Sensing his awkwardness, Michelle decided to change the subject. "Anyway…Kam told us you were at a beach house. That sounds nice."

"Yes, it's a great place," he said, thankful that she had picked up on his reluctance to talk about Sam.

"How far is it from here?"

Callen immediately became apprehensive. Was she trying to figure out where he was to tell Sam? "It's about an hour and 45 minutes away, give or take," he finally said, a little reluctantly.

"That's not too bad…because I was thinking maybe Kam and I could come out for a visit…Unless you'd rather we didn't?"

"No…I just…" He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "What about Sam? I really don't want him to know where I am, Michelle, but I don't want you to have to keep things from him either…"

"Callen, please don't worry about it. I can handle Sam. I'm going to be perfectly honest to him about what Kamran and I will have done today but I won't tell him where you are. I can promise you that."

"Are you sure you want to take such a long drive?"

Michelle nodded. "I think it will be good for Kam to see you and I'd like to see you too."

Ignoring the Belgian waffle which she had barely touched, Kamran had been listening to the conversation and began twirling around the kitchen in excitement. "I'm going to go get dressed and get my bathing suit!" she informed her mother before fleeing the kitchen.

"Alright…if you're sure." He couldn't help feeling a little bit excited at the thought of seeing them. He felt pretty isolated at the beach house and did miss seeing and working with his team. Things weren't going well with his partner and the last time he had seen Kensi and Deeks was when they had brought pizza and medical stuff to help him care for Kamran. It would be nice to see some familiar faces. He gave Michelle the address and went in search of a new book to read to keep him occupied until the Hanna women arrived.


End file.
